Samsung and Apple is among the smartphone companies to take hit as the production of smartphones drops in the second quarter of 2021. The global pandemic and the global chip shortage saga is to blame for this.
According to reports from TrendForce, smartphone production in the Q2 of 2021 dropped by some 11% compared to Q1 of 2021. It is important to note that the Q2 of 2020 saw a 10% increase in smartphone production.
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But why the decrease in smartphone production? Well, the rise of Covid-19 saw companies’ shutting down operations for a while. This means for a period of time, there was no production going on.
And when production finally started, the issue of quantity and shipment to other countries set in. so, how did various smartphone brands perform in the second quarter of 2021 thus far?
Smartphone Production Dropped In the Q2 Of 2021
Samsung
The largest manufacturer of smartphones still remains Samsung. The company released an estimated 58.5 million smartphones between April and June. But compared with the first quarter of 2021, this is about 23.5% less.
The corona virus outbreak in India and Vietnam is major reason for this decline. This outbreak forced Samsung to suspend production at the company’s factories located in these countries.
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Taking advantage of this, Xiaomi has leap frogged Samsung to become the world’s biggest smartphone brand. But analyst also predict Samsung to take back the crown by the end of 2021.
Oppo and Xiaomi
Both Oppo and Xiaomi each released 49.5 million smartphones in the second quarter of 2021. These released smartphones includes the products released by the companies’ sub-brands.
So, the calculation for Xiaomi included smartphones released under the brands Redmi, POCO and Black Shark; and calculation for Oppo include smartphones under the brands Realme and OnePlus.
Comparing this to the second quarter of last year, Oppo’s figure has grown by 80%, and Xiaomi’s smartphone production has jumped by 70%. But compared to the first quarter of 2021, the production of devices for these companies dropped slightly.
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The US ban on Huawei contributed to the growth of these companies. There is a large vacuum of users created with Huawei and Honor withdrawing from the international market. So, OPPO and Xiaomi were quick to try and fill the vacuum.
iPhone
Apple also saw a decline it smartphone production for the second quarter of 2021. With the release of the iPhone 13 in view, the company has to slow down on production of older iPhone models.
From the report, a total of 42 million iPhones were produced in the second quarter of 2021, which is 22% less than in the first quarter of this year. The pandemic also disrupt the production and shipment of Apple iPhones.
This saw Apple dropped one spot and settle as the third biggest smartphone brand in the world. Hopefully, the incoming IPhone 13 series might boost sales and bring it back to second or possibly the number one spot.
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Vivo
Vivo produced a total of 34 million smartphones from April to June 2021. The outbreak of coronavirus in India did not allow the company to perform better. Analyst also think the share of Vivo will slightly drop in the third quarter of 2021; due to the comeback of Samsung and Apple.
With the pandemic restrictions been lifted in some regions, we might see an increase in smartphone production in the third and fourth quarter of 2021. But can Xiaomi maintain the number spot? Guess we’ll find out by the end of 2021.